slow motion in a party dress
by wildcurlgirl
Summary: "He said he'd be here." "He's not here, he's not here." In which clarity finally comes to Eponine.


She walks into Musichetta's apartment wearing a simple black dress and red heels- her typical party attire. Her hair falls to her waist, and her red lips hold the beginnings of a smile. All hope of smiling is diminished, however, when she takes in the faces, all of them but _his._ Her face drops, and everyone notices- Courfeyrac looks at the floor, Jehan tries not to cry for her, and Grantaire just hands her a beer. Shooting him a grateful look, she checks the time- half past 8. The party started at 8:15.

"He'll be here. He said he would. He's just late, I'm sure." She lets the edges of her lips turn up, and she goes to Enjolras, who is studying her like she's going to explode like a grenade any second. _Come on, Eponine. Put your big girl panties on and deal. _Straightening her shoulders, she raises her beer to the sky and cranks the stereo some more- Chetta's neighbors don't need those eardrums, anyway. And slowly, the alcohol and the music enter her system, and she'll be okay, for now. He'll be here by 8:45, surely. _He said he would be here._

She's lost in the music, grinding on Grantaire while Courfeyrac does the same to her, and she's all smiles and giggles- Jehan is running around shirtless, his freckled, soft body and red hair standing out from the crowd. Enjolras sits on the counter, nursing a ginger ale (the pussy), supervising them all- Papa Enj, she calls him. Feuilly and Bahorel are doing shots at the table, and Joly and Bousset are aggressively grinding against Chetta, Joly's hands on her hips and Bousset's on her chest. Gavroche is sitting beside Enjolras, Enjolras's hand over his eyes- a good thing, too, because her brother is ten years old and overprotective enough of his big sister- she doesn't need him seeing two of the boys doing _this._

Time passes, and everything gets funnier and funnier. Soon, Combeferre walks in the door into a laughing fest- no one really knows why they're laughing anymore, but it's the most fun she's had in ages. Smiling, Combeferre turns off the lights and lights the candles on the cake- her birthday cake.

That's when she notices the clock says midnight. _He's not here, he's not here._

Suddenly, everything stops, and she is standing in the middle of the room, all eyes on her. She tastes the salt in her mouth, but never feels the liquid on her cheeks. Then, as if in slow motion, she turns to run to the bathroom. She curls on the bathmat, tears streaming, sides heaving as she sobs. The first one to her is Gavroche, followed by Enjolras and Grantaire. Gavroche just hugs her tightly, and she pulls him into her arms, rocking her baby brother to and fro as her heart breaks in two. Grantaire sits on one side of her, placing her head in his lap as he shushes her gently, and she holds on to his hand for dear life as Enjolras sits behind her and rubs her back. Soon, all the Amis are in the bathroom, and she's blushing heavily because _this isn't how this is supposed to work_. She is supposed to be headed to bed with Marius for some hot birthday sex, but instead she is crying in the floor in front of everyone.

"Ep.. shhh. You deserve so much better. You're so much better." Enjolras's words offer comfort, and she curls in tighter, allowing him to trace scars on her shoulders, scars from times before Bahorel was there to knock out anyone who hurt her, before Gavroche knew to do anything, before R supplied alcohol and Papa Enjy was there to take off her shoes and put her to bed when she was too drunk to several awkward minutes, she finally picks herself off the ground, apologizing profusely. Everyone just shakes their heads and hugs her, and she lets them- but after that, she goes home. Enjolras takes her, Gavroche sound asleep in the backseat. When they reach her apartment, he carries Gavroche to bed and tucks him in, kissing his forehead. And that's when she knows- Enjolras is the one who cares. It's never been Marius, who always makes her feel as if it's a struggle to make time for her, but the golden haired boy who is always a phonecall away- how many times has he babysat Gavroche when he had a huge paper due, or carried her home drunk, or fixed something in her apartment that's in constant need of repair? Yes, it's Enjolras who's there, never Marius. When he turns to face her, she smiles shyly, and he takes her hand to lead her to the bathroom, where he hands her a towel and a clean set of pajamas (how does he even know where those are?), and goes to sit on the couch.

Twenty minutes later, she is clean and ready to crawl in bed and just sleep away the rest of her life. Enjolras follows her, and he tucks the sheets around her and places a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"You don't know how much more you deserve." And at that, she grabs his wrist and looks him in the eye, her mouth betraying her mind.

"Stay."

And stay he does, on top of the sheets, shoes off, and their hands on top of each other, all through the night.

(and when, in the morning Marius comes to apologize, she kicks him out. Gavroche punches him in the stomach, and Enjolras tries not to laugh.)

(It turns out he was on a date anyway, the cheating bastard.)


End file.
